| Detox Diet
Programs Leave Lots To Be Desired By Nanci Hellmich USA Today
Lisa’s comments
in blue
For
years, cleansing diets and detox plans have been in the spotlight,
fueled by stories of celebrities who followed these strict regimens
to lose weight quickly for a movie or an awards show. Take Beyonce,
who has reported losing 20 pounds on the Master Cleanse diet-
a plan that involves eating no food, but drinking a mixture
of fresh lemon juice, organic maple syrup, cayenne pepper and
water- for her role in “Dreamgirls”. OR Gwyneth Paltrow, who
followed a weeklong detox diet after the holidays, cutting out
dairy, caffeine and processed foods and drinking a beet-carrot-apple-ginger
juice, according to “People” magazine. OR Oprah who blogged
about her experiences on a 21-day vegan cleansing diet that
was free of sugar, alcohol, caffeine, gluten and animal products.
Note from Lisa, I don’t
think Gwyneths or oprahs plan was unhealthy as long as they
got enough protein; the Master Cleanse I’m not fond of and I’ve
heard about it from clients and everyone I know gained all their
weight back. Believe me if there was some magical potion out
there I’d be doing it and telling you all about it!
Dozens
of programs are outlined on Websites, in magazines and in diet
books. They vary widely but most eliminate caffeine, alcohol,
sugar, processed foods and fast foods. Sounds
good to me. Many exclude dairy, meat and wheat products.
Ok as long as protein needs are met.
The most stringent ones are liquid fasts. Some even recommend
enemas, including coffee enemas. GROSS!!!!
In
many cases, the diets are big business, often involving purchasing
books, supplements, vitamins, shakes, drinks, teas, juicers
and other products. The plans are supposed to remove unwanted
chemical and dietary toxins from the body- but weight loss experts
say there is no scientific evidence that these programs do a
better job cleaning out the body than the body’s own organs.
I think getting off addictive foods will
lead to a detox feeling where you will want to go into a padded
room with nerf bats, a pillow and a warehouse of Kleenex for
tears. Though overall I think the body is an incredible self
cleansing organism. “These kinds of diets are not a reasonable
approach to weight loss, and there is no data that they do what
they claim, “says Gary Foster, director of the Center for Obesity
Research and Education at Temple University in Philadelphia.
He is concerned that the cleanses could be harmful to people
who suffer medical consequences of obesity such as high blood
pressure, diabetes and heart disease.
I agree, I don’t see how a coffee enema will help this…I’m still
grossed out.
One
of the most talked about plans is the Master Cleanse, which
was created more than 50 years ago by the late alternative health
guru Stanley Burroughs and is promoted by Peter Glickman in
his book “Lose Weight, Have More Energy and Be Happier in 10
days” and on his website TheRawFoodSIte.com. He’s a layman who
did the cleanse, and is convinced that it works. Remember
this is the cayenne pepper, lemon juice, maple syrup diet…a
client told me she was on it because it was low carb……..MAPLE
SYRUP is pure sugar so it’s not low carb…and sugar addicts would
be sent into a tizzy with this one!. “the only thing
I can tell you is the cleanse has been used for decades by hundreds
of thousands of people, (so has heroin!)
and we have anecdotal stories that people lose weight, feel
better, say aches and pains in their joints are reduced or go
away, can breathe better and their skin looks healthier.” He
also points out that lemons have been used for thousands of
years for medicinal purposes yes it has
and that there’s a lot of history behind fasts. “Almost every
religion on earth has fasting as part of it.” Nothing
wrong with a religious fasts in my book…usually people are eating
more before the fast or after or when the sun is down. Longer
term religious fasts are a different thing and not used to just
lose weight.
Nutrition
experts say they’d like to see some scientific evidence that
these plans work. “I’ve never seen any published trials that
would lead me to believe that if you are healthy, your lungs,
kidney and liver need help removing toxins from your body,”
says Colleen Doyle, director of nutrition and physical activity
for the American Cancer Society. Joy Bauer, a registered dietitian
in NYC and author of “Joy’s Life Diet. “ says a fiber-rich diet
of fruits, vegetables, whole brains, lean protein, low-fat dairy
and plenty of water can clean your system out much better than
most packaged fasts or juice fasts. I
love Joy!!! There’s a reason that fiber is called nature’s
broom, says Keith Ayoob, a RD at Albert Einstein College of
Medicine in New York.
Nutritionists
are also concerned that most cleansing diets are devoid of protein,
which is important for maintaining muscle mass during weight
loss. “I wouldn’t want people to go on these and lose their
muscles,” Ayoob says. For those of you
that know me, isn’t that something that sounds EXACTLY like
it came out of MY mouth. Bonnie Taub-Dix, a spokeswoman
for the American Dietetic Association and a RD in private practice
in New York, agrees that the lack of protein in many of these
diets makes them nutritionally inadequate. “it’s like getting
dressed and putting on three shirts and no pants. They may be
nice shirts, but you are missing other critical things!” I
LOVE THAT QUOTE!!!!! But Glickman counters that the body
can go for days without protein and not be harmed. He says he
knows of about 2000 people who have done the Master Cleanse
and it hasn’t harmed anyone’s health long term” show
me the body mass analysis results….which they didn’t do…and
the padded room which they were held hostage in cause they had
to have been MEAN with hunger .Beyonce admitted on a
2006 “Ellen DeGeneres Show” that while she was doing the cleanse,
“I was very hungry, therefore I was evil. When we wrapped the
movie, I was so excited…I ate a whole dozen Krispy Kreme Donuts.
doesn’t that just make you cringe?
Dietitians
say some of these plans aren’t calorie bargains. Bauer calculated
that drinking 12 cups of the Master Cleanse mixture is 1300
calories and for that amount, a “dieter” could have had a full
day’s worth of healthful foods including whole grain cereal,
milk, grapefruit, a turkey sandwich, carrots, nuts, salmon,
salad and broccoli. If you’re trying to detox your body of the
junk food you’ve been pumping into yourself, then stop eating
that kind of food and eat a healthier diet, she says. Amen
Sister. Ayoob agrees. “There are plenty of ways to clean
up your diet without having to go on a fast. If you want to
take a break from all the junk food, then keep what you are
eating very VERY simple…fresh fruits, veggies, whole grains,
lean protein. It’s a very healthful way of eating, and you can
lose weight on it. It’s also safer than doing a fast.” Amen
Brother
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